Pea of Sweetness

Let's Celebrate Giveaway Winners!

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Congrats to some of our latest giveaway winners!

Yay! Giveaway winners! I love to celebrate with my winners, so if you won a giveaway that was hosted by Pea of Sweetness be sure to post a picture to my Facebook Wall or send it to me so I can add it to the Winner’s Circle!
*Please note, winners on this list have already received communication and confirmed their winning. We will not announce giveaway winners through a post to notify them of their winning. It will always be done via email before we announce them here.*
Congratulations Latest Winners

Giveaways Hosted by Pea of Sweetness

Breakfast Month Giveaway: Cheryl Everitt

Giveaways Hosted by Other Blogs

Fagor LUX Electric Pressure Cooker Giveaway: Amber L.
Eggland’s Best $25 Visa Gift Card Giveaway: Holly Thomas
Steaming the Mess Away Giveaway: Lisa C.
 

If you would like to be one of our next winners be sure to enter our current giveaways!! Good luck!

 
 

4 Things That Make Castaway Bay Manageable for Single Parents

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As I’m still learning to navigate life as a single parent, some fun ideas just don’t seem possible. The kids are getting stir crazy and we could definitely use a couple days of fun. The first thing that crosses my mind, though, is “can I manage that?” When I was invited for a review of Castaway Bay this winter, that is exactly what I thought. Being familiar with the layout, though, I thought if there is any place that has a waterpark manageable for single parents it’s definitely Castaway Bay! So I decided to put that theory to the test!

Castaway Bay

Disclosure: I received a complimentary stay to facilitate my review. Regardless, all opinions are my own and those of my family. Please see my Disclosure Policy for more information.

We take a big chunk of winter off from homeschooling so we don’t have to reset after the holidays. So each new school year starts in January with the new year. Easing back into a routine is always a little challenging after time off. Although this winter was fairly mild, the kids were still antsy within a few weeks and ready for a little break. Castaway Bay is perfect for just a couple days of fun. It’s a “one tank trip” for us so a couple days off was all we needed to enjoy their 38,000-square-foot indoor waterpark.
Castaway Bay Indoor Waterpark and Resort
Having been to Castaway Bay before, we were familiar not only with the layouts but also the fun activities that are available as well. It’s so much more than “just” a waterpark. If I was going to tackle this, though, I was going to have to come up with a game plan. What were we going to do while we were there? How was I going to make sure all three kids have fun when I will have to stay with at least my youngest the whole time. I couldn’t ask my older two kids to just forgo any waterpark fun. So, putting together a game plan is exactly what we did!

More Than Just a Waterpark

In addition to an indoor waterpark that is always at the perfect temperature, Castaway Bay offers a lot of other fun activities for the kids. So, our first plan of action was to decide just how much we wanted to do while we were there. Some of the options are: the arcade, visiting with the Peanuts Gang, crafts, coloring souvenirs, a Dance Party, Bed Time Story with Snoopy, a Peanuts movie and more. Although we enjoyed just about all of the activities last year, we mutually decided to narrow things down to the arcade and the souvenirs this year so we could have more waterpark time.
Castaway Bay Arcade
There was definitely no shortage in arcade time! I love that the arcade uses a card system rather than tokens and tickets. You simply load up the card with credits and it puts all the tickets you win right there on the card, too. It’s much easier than keeping track of tokens and tickets. We played quite a few games and had a blast!
For souvenirs, we colored t-shirts again. At first, I wasn’t sure what we would do with more Castaway Bay t-shirts, but what I saw unfold before me was really neat. For one, my youngest was actually coloring his own! They were all having a nice time coloring and did an awesome job! I had them write their names as well as the year on them and it was neat to compare them to last year’s shirts!
Castaway Bay Souvenir Shirts

A Room with a View

The kids were so excited about going again, but I had to explain we wouldn’t be in one of the bigger rooms with the bunk beds, though, since there are just four of us. What I knew about our room, though, that I couldn’t wait for them to see was the view of the bay! It did not disappoint! In fact, all three of them couldn’t wait to get out on the balcony to sit and enjoy the view. The balcony has a full screen so there is no worries about bugs or falls.
Castaway Bay Bayview Room
The room we were in was the Starfish Bayview. It includes two full-size beds as well as a pull out chair. Decorated in the fun, tropical theme that is seen throughout the hotel, it has pictures of Cedar Point rides including my favorite – Raptor! It has a table with chairs, dresser, mini fridge, a safe, TV and more. Linens for the pull out chair were available in the dresser. Somehow I ended up sharing a bed with my 6 year old while my 10 year old had a whole bed to himself and my daughter slept on the pull out chair. Seems about right! Ha!
The best part is our plan included leaving our big stuff in the car until we could check in to our room since we went early, but it was already ready for us! That made things even easier!
Castaway Bay Starfish Room
After getting settled in, having a good lunch at Quaker Steak & Lube (which is attached to the resort), and our fun at the arcade we were ready to tackle the water park!

4 Things That Make Castaway Bay Waterpark Manageable for Single Parents

With a game plan in place, Castaway Bay is definitely a waterpark manageable for single parents. It offers features that are convenient and helpful for everyone including: plenty of towels, lockers, life jackets, water fountains and more. It is nice and warm with a variety of attractions with plenty of chairs for lounging underneath the relaxing sky lights.
We chose to go on weekdays because we aren’t limited to weekends since we homeschool. After I initially made the plans I thought maybe I should have chosen the weekend so I could have had a family member or friend go with us to help out. Regardless, it worked out great! Here are 4 things about Castaway Bay that makes it manageable:

Waterpark Manageable for Single Parents

Enclosed Area

The indoor waterpark within Castaway Bay only has one entrance and exit and there is always someone on staff right outside the doors. Plus, the area is compact. Although there are distinct attractions within the waterpark, they are all close to each other. If my older two were going to a different attraction they had to check in with me to tell me which one they’d be at. Every time they went to a different one they would have to check in. If I needed to do a sweep around the water park, it was as simple as walking around a block.

Helpful Staff

I think it’s always reassuring to have trained life guards, but I found their staff to be very helpful in general. There are multiple life guards for each attraction and others walking between the attractions. Unfortunately, my youngest slipped in the locker room, and there was someone there within minutes to make sure he was OK. His ankle was a little swollen so they got an ice pack and checked up on us a bit later. By then, he was ready to go again anyway!
Castaway Bay Safety

Family Bathrooms

My youngest is definitely too young to go into a public bathroom by himself. So when he needed bathroom breaks, I could simply use one of the Family Bathrooms. These bathrooms also have more room and a shower. It’s a great option for parents with young kids in general.

Food Within the Water Park

Are the kids hungry but can’t wait? No need to gather them all up and head out to get a bite just to come back later. There is a snack shack right within the waterpark. So it’s easy to grab a snack for everyone and get back to the fun with no fuss!

Our Castaway Bay Fun

Castaway Bay Fun
We had a great time at Castaway Bay. I went there with a little bit of worry and some hope. Despite being a single mom and having three kids with sensory challenges, we really had an amazing time! The kids did great, and we had a good plan in place so everyone could have fun. B, my oldest son, found many kids to play with as he often does and basically did everything available. My daughter mostly stayed near or with me but went on the “water roller coaster” with her brother. My youngest son was always with me, of course. It was a much needed break that sent us home with some great memories!

Connect with Castaway Bay

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*Giveaway!!!*

Would you like to enjoy some family fun at Castaway Bay? You could win 4 Day Passes to the Indoor Water Park! This giveaway runs through 4/15/17 and is open to US residents ages 18+. *Please note travel and accommodations are not included.*

Enter the Giveaway by Clicking Here!

 

Creating a Masterpiece Review

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Do you have children that love art? Do you have children that aren’t so fond of art? Is your family looking for something “more” in your homeschool art? I have a child that loves art, one that doesn’t like it at all, and one that’s indifferent (but still young). They all have completely different tastes and styles including how they learn. I was definitely intrigued by the Creating a Masterpiece art lessons!
For our Creating a Masterpiece Review we received the Monthly Plan. With the Monthly Plans families receive access to all projects available for a monthly fee of $39.99. This includes over 144 lessons as well as additional videos and tips. Additional options include an Annual Plan which includes everything included in the Monthly Plan, but families would have availability for an entire year. Families can also purchase individual levels which includes access to that specific level for one year.
Creating a Masterpiece Review
The Creating a Masterpiece lessons are all account based lessons available online. Lessons can be accessed from any device with internet access. Once logging in, we can access all of the lessons available. One of the things I thought was really neat is how it says “Roberts Family’s Art Studio” once we’re logged in.
We have been accessing our “Art Studio” using a laptop running Windows 10 and the Google Chrome browser. We have not experienced any issues or complications. The videos run smoothly and the Supply List PDFs have downloaded smoothly. Printing the Supply List is optional, of course, but I always like to have a list when I’m at the store! In addition to the Supply List, there are also Lesson Highlights, a High Resolution Image and even a gallery of Reference Art with each Lesson.
Creating a Masterpiece Review
I think probably the biggest question I had after logging in for the first time was “where do I start?” There are so many different options, and they are all so beautiful! As far as Level recommendations it’s noted children as young as age 5 (depending on maturity) can do the Beginners Lessons. I can honestly say my youngest son is not at that maturity level despite being almost 7. So I have been using this program with my oldest son (almost 11) and daughter (9). Although my oldest son struggles with art, my daughter has natural talent. So the question became “what can I do with them together?”
There were a couple of ways I saw to approach this. We could simply choose something from the Beginners lessons as they are designed to be fun and simple and go from there or we could choose a project based on the required materials. The Art Studio is divided by Level in the main area and a colored dot is pictured next to the name to indicate the primary medium used. Additionally, all of the available art mediums are listed on the left-hand side so if you have a preference, you can simply click on it and see what projects are available in that medium. So really, you could easily go both routes!
Although I was strongly leaning towards a Beginners project it was noted Level 1 is also a great place to start. The kids chose to start with a clown fish picture from Level 1. My son chose this because he thought it “looked” simple. My daughter chose it because it was a colored pencils project, which is her favorite art medium.
Creating a Masterpiece Review Fish
This particular project is divided into 3 Lessons which are further broken down into sub lessons. My daughter could probably sit and do the entire project in one sitting despite each lesson taking around an hour. Of course, my son obviously couldn’t (and we don’t really have that kind of time to carve out of our homeschool day), so we worked on completing one lesson per week. We divided up the sub lessons usually to be done on separate days.
So since Lesson 1 contained three sub lessons, we did art three days that first week. Although I would say completing the full lesson in one day is definitely feasible for most, breaking up into small parts really worked for us – particularly with my reluctant artist. I think it just felt so much less overwhelming for him. The project still was challenging for him overall, though, but the breaks in between was nice. So although spanning one picture out to three weeks seemed like a lot it was definitely a good pace for him.
Creating a Masterpiece Review Level 1
After browsing other projects – Level 1 and higher are generally presented in 3-7 full lessons, though Beginners can usually be completed in one lesson. I think the pace at which you go is definitely dependent on multiple factors: your child’s age and maturity level, ability, desire, attention span, etc. Of course, in my case this was mainly dependent on my oldest’s pace since I wanted them to do the lessons together. I have found they can do lessons together as our homeschool art, and I’ve given my daughter free reign to choose other projects she can do on her own. She simply lets me know which one, and I make sure we have (or go get) the supplies. There is just so much flexibility.

Creating a Masterpiece Review

Creating a Masterpiece
Overall, I definitely think Creating a Masterpiece is a unique art program. It goes beyond simple art projects into detailed, creative art projects. It’s all available online for easy access, lists projects by levels and materials, breaks down projects into multiple lessons that are then further broken down into sub lessons, offers a straight forward printout for materials and additional lesson notes.
Is it as “easy” as it seems? I would have to say “not really.” It does make it seem like just about everyone can do it. Although my oldest son’s biggest challenge has been his lack of interest, the shorter lessons made it easier for him to stay interested. Unfortunately, though, his fine motor challenges posed a bigger limitation despite his actual interest in doing the projects. So, he was ultimately still left feeling frustrated. I plan to try to browse more projects (particularly in the Beginners area) for him, but I was kind of disappointed for him, too. My daughter, of course, did very well which I would expect.
As with any art, I always encourage them no matter what. Art is beautiful even from different perspectives and abilities!

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Members of the Homeschool Review Crew with children of multiple ages and abilities also had the opportunity to review Creating a Masterpiece. See what they thought by clicking on the button below!
Creating Beautiful Art at Home {Creating A Masterpiece Reviews}
 
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Language Arts with a Multisensory Approach {Eclectic Foundations Review}

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Due to his special needs my youngest son (age 6) has learning challenges. Due to life challenges right now he has also experienced regression. It’s much like starting at the beginning. So I was excited to share ou Eclectic Foundations review. We have been using Eclectic Foundations Language Arts Level A four days per week and I have seen amazing progress.
Eclectic Foundations Review
For our Eclectic Foundations review we received physical copies of what is needed to teach Level A including: Teacher’s Guide, Student Workbook, Appendixes and Word Cards. The Teacher’s Guide, Student Workbook and Appendixes are all spiral bound books. While the Teacher’s Guide and Student Workbook have basic paper pages, the entire book of Appendixes has laminated pages as they are used multiple times with dry erase marker. So although the Student Workbook is consumable, the Appendixes are reusable.
Because we are still in the beginning of Level A we haven’t yet used it, but there is a McGuffey’s section which requires McGuffey’s Primer. The digital copy can be accessed on the Eclectic Foundations. Physical copies can be purchased online or can likely be found at the library. The Word Cards that are included with the Appendixes are specifically for use with the McGuffey’s primer and contain multiple flashcards on card stock to be cut out.

Eclectic Foundations Review

Eclectic Foundations Review Level A
Eclectic Foundations covers the entire spectrum that is Language Arts. It teaches Phonics, Grammar, Spelling, Reading Comprehension, Handwriting, Composition, and Poetry without multiple books! I’m really trying to purge our homeschool curriculum to save space, so I definitely appreciate this! Plus, it teaches all of this with a Biblical worldview. I really try to incorporate our faith in everything we do, which definitely includes our homeschool curriculum. Plus, I love that it takes a hands-on approach because I believe that’s made the biggest difference in Chaz’s learning.

A Multisensory Approach

Each lesson is short – around 10-15 minutes though we have gone up to 20 minutes. It starts with learning one letter at a time. It starts very hands-on by using play dough to form the letters. I love this because it really does reinforce learning the letters and helps strengthen fine-motor skills as well. Because Chaz has fine-motor challenges, this has been a great way to work on those skills as well. Plus he uses glue to trace the letter and sprinkles glitter on the letters, which also works on those fine-motor skills. It recommends colored sand, which is what we are using now, but when I didn’t have any the glitter worked well as a substitute!
Eclectic Foundations Review Glitter
Of course, as he is learning the letters he progresses from using the play dough and sand to writing on the white board to writing on the paper. There has been no fuss about writing on the paper, and this is HUGE. The biggest struggle I’ve had with teaching him to read and write is that he is too intimidated to try writing. He would do it, but would get easily upset if he messed up. I think the biggest difference is the hands-on approach. The sand/glitter is messy, and that was OK, so if his writing is messy at first, that’s OK, too. It offered him the perspective I hadn’t been able to offer before. Plus the step-by-step progression really helped to ease into it.
Unfortunately, Chaz still doesn’t write his name. This is another thing that he is just completely resistant about. With Eclectic Foundations there is a place to write his name, and it suggested writing it with highlighter so he could trace it. I thought he would still be resistant, but he hasn’t been! He’s getting so close to being able to write his name independently!

Learning Language Arts is Fun

Chaz has really been having fun with Eclectic Foundations. Not only is he improving with writing, but really hearing the letter sounds has been an improvement. The lessons progress from hearing the letter sound at the beginning of words to then identifying if the sound is at the beginning, middle or end of the word. There are pages in the Appendixes with smiley faces to point to during these exercises. He’s really had a lot of fun with it.
Something we’ve both enjoyed is playing Tic-Tac-Toe with the letters. He gets extra practice writing the letters, and we get to have a little game time together. We play at least two games so he can be both the lower case and upper case letters. When it’s a cat game he has to draw a cat. He hasn’t been keen on drawing either, so this is another pleasant surprise that has started since we started Eclectic Foundations!
Eclectic Foundations Review Appendix
Additionally, he gets to follow the letters through a maze to the other size. He does this with pencil, so he’s getting even more practice writing while having fun! Each lesson then ends with a Mother Goose poem.
Overall, Eclectic Foundations has been a great fit for my struggling learner. I love that it offers a multisensory approach and has short lessons that are fun. It offers an ideal progression that has reduced intimidation and fun games that have encouraged learning. Plus there are paragraphs for identifying letters he’s learning that are Biblical. It covers so much without using an overwhelming amount of resources.

Connect with Eclectic Foundations

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Other members of the Homeschool Review Crew have been using Eclectic Foundations with their families including the different levels. Learn more and find their reviews by clicking on the banner below!
Language Arts {Eclectic Foundations Reviews}
 
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